South Carolina's men's basketball team fell to the Augusta Jaguars 77-72 in an exhibition match on Friday night. The Gamecocks struggled on both sides of the ball against a hungry Division II team.
Senior Hassani Gravett led the Gamecocks in scoring with 18 including four three pointers. Despite the team's poor performance, the newcomers showed what they can contribute to the team.
Freshman AJ Lawson was the best newcomer for South Carolina, and he proved to be an effective shooter. Lawson finished with 12 points and shot 50 percent. He shot 40 percent on his three pointers, but only made two out of seven free throws.
Free throws were a large issue for the Gamecocks. South Carolina got to the line 30 times, but only made 17 of their free throws. The Gamecocks also had 16 turnovers, which gave Augusta 19 points off turnovers. The Gamecocks failed to win the rebound battle with only 37 rebounds compared to the Jaguars’ 40 rebounds.
Transfer Tre Campbell was impressive in the first half. He finished with 13 points, which was good for second on the team. He only played 17 minutes because he injured himself early in the second half. Head coach Frank Martin has confirmed that he has a rolled ankle, but that it’s nothing too serious.
The Gamecocks also struggled with fouls. Senior Chris Silva had to be taken out of the game midway through the second half due to his four fouls. He finished with only seven points and shot 33 percent even though he was double teamed most of the game. South Carolina finished with four more team fouls than Augusta.
Despite the challenges, sophomore Justin Minaya finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, which is good for a double double.
The Gamecocks will be home on Nov. 6 to play USC Upstate.